Bruce and Cinder stood before Salem.

The leader of the League of Shadows smiled as she looked to Bruce.

"We have purged your fear," she said. "You are ready to lead these men. You are ready to become a member of the League of Shadows."

Bruce smiled back, nodding in respect to her.

"But first, you must demonstrate your commitment to justice," Salem said. She turned around. "Bring in the prisoner!"

At her command, two men dragged in the farmer-turned-murderer Bruce had seen locked up. They brought him to his knees.

Cinder lifted a sword, and held it to Wayne for him to take.

It didn't take words for him to realize what they were asking him to do. In the moment where he pieced together what this test was, his view of the League of Shadows changed entirely. This wasn't something he supported, or even condoned.

He shook his head. "No. I'm no executioner."

Cinder's eyes widened, and she stared at him in disbelief. After everything they had been through, was he really going to refuse to have the will to act?

Salem scowled. "Compassion is a weakness your enemies will not share."

"That's why it's so important," Bruce said. "It separates us from them."

"You want to fight criminals," Salem said. "This man is a murderer!"

"This man should be tried." These words were something he imagined Weiss would say to him, and yet he meant them truly.

"By whom?" Salem said. "Corrupt bureaucrats? Criminals mock society's laws! You know this better than most!"

Bruce shook his head. "I will not kill him."

But Salem didn't back down. "You cannot lead these men, unless you are prepared to do what is necessary to defeat evil."

"And where would I be leading these men?" Bruce asked.

"Vale," Salem said. "As Vale's favored son, you will be ideally placed to strike at the heart of criminality."

Bruce grew concerned. What was the League of Shadows really? Had his view of them been wrong this whole time?

"How?"

"Vale's time has come," Salem said. "Like Mountain Glenn or Kuroyuri before it, the kingdom has become a breeding ground for suffering and injustice. It is beyond saving and must be allowed to die. This is the most important function of the League of Shadows. It is one we've performed for centuries. Vale . . . must be destroyed."

Bruce was horrified at the revelation of what he had been a part of this whole time. Vale was his home. He had wanted to save it, not destroy it, and the lives of those who lived there.

He turned to Cinder, the teacher he had looked up to and viewed as his friend for so long.

"You can't believe in this!" he said.

"Salem rescued us from the darkest corners of our own hearts," Cinder said. "What she asks in return is the courage to do what is necessary."

"I will go back to Vale and I will fight men like this, but I will not become an executioner."

"Bruce, please," Cinder pleaded, a desperate expression on her face. "For your own sake, there is no turning back."

Bruce sighed, knowing what he had to do. He took the sword in his hand, and stepped up to the prisoner.

He rested the sword against his neck, preparing to swing. The man looked up, his eyes filled with terror, pleading for him to spare his life.

Bruce lifted the sword, preparing for his decision. It was like Cinder had said.

There was no turning back.

The katana swung, but not to the prisoner, instead towards Salem. It swept at her wrist, and she screamed in agony, her arm swinging away. Losing control of her semblance for a moment, a wave of energy blasted from her hands, hitting the barrels of explosive powders in the distance.

"What are you doing?!" Cinder shouted.

"What's necessary, my friend."

The explosives blew up, immediately lighting the house on fire.

The League of Shadows grabbed their weapons, and were prepared to attack Bruce. He punched Cinder, knocking her unconscious.

"Get back!" Salem shouted, her wrist bleeding profusely. "He's mine!"

Bruce took note of her bleeding wound. Cinder had told him she was invincible, and her wounds would be able to heal. And yet, she was still bleeding.

She fired blasts of energy at Bruce, and he dodged the attacks, as the building continued to light on fire at unbelievable speeds around them.

Bruce stayed on the defensive, avoiding Salem's attacks, and occasionally giving a kick, a punch, or a slice with the sword. Each slice left behind a bloody scar, which didn't heal.

An explosion went off, and the force sent the two flying. Bruce stood up to see the roof collapse above Salem, landing on top of her.

Bruce stood up, rushing to the pile of rubble. She could see Salem underneath, her eyes wide open, and blood pouring from her mouth. She was limp, not moving. Dead.

So she wasn't as immortal as she let on.

Bruce felt guilty that he had caused her death by setting this place ablaze, but it was either that or commit a direct murder. He wasn't happy with either, but this wasn't direct murder.

But Cinder was laying unconscious nearby, and leaving her to die was the same as murder in his eyes. He knelt down to her, lifting her over his shoulder, and carrying her through the blazing building, making his way for the nearest window.

The building was collapsing around them, and explosions nearly caused him to lose his balance. But his life wasn't the only one on the line. He wasn't going to let Cinder die with him.

He leapt out the window with her, an explosion going off behind him. He dropped Cinder as he fell to the ground.

When he landed, he looked to see her rolling down the mountain, straight for a cliff.

Panicking, Bruce lunged after her, sliding down the hill to rescue her. He quickly grabbed her hand. But they were still rolling towards the cliff, and he pulled out the sword she had in her belt, and planted it to the ground, right before he rolled off the cliff.

With one arm, he held her wrist, and with the other he held the sword. He clung desperately to both, Cinder dangling over the cliff.

He groaned, her weight making his arm feel as though it was being slowly pulled from its socket. He fought against the pain, using all of his strength to lift Cinder, and pull both of them back onto the safety of the mountain.

He panted, desperately catching his breath after the battle that had taken place. He still felt the guilt for his actions being responsible for Salem's death, but he was at least relieved that he'd rescued the only member of the League of Shadows who had welcomed him with open arms, and had believed in him the whole time.

He lifted her unconscious form into his arms, carrying her down the mountain to Mistral. The citizens directed him to a doctor. He handed Cinder to the doctor, and waited in his office for him to tell him her condition.

The doctor looked up to him after checking her pulse.

"I will tell her you saved her life."

Bruce sighed in relief, bowing to Cinder in respect.

He looked to the doctor. "Do you have a scroll?"

He nodded, and pulled out his scroll, handing it to Bruce. He dialed the number of his butler, knowing the time had finally come to return to Vale.

"Where will you go?" the doctor asked.

Bruce held the scroll to his ear, waiting for Alfred to answer. Just before he heard his old friend pick up with a, "Hello?" he answered the doctor's question.

"Home . . ."